Dick finished his dressing, rejoined his regiment and ate supper with the other officers around a fine camp fire. He found that he had a good appetite, and as he ate strength flowed rapidly back into his veins. He gathered from the talk of the older officers that they were still hoping for a junction with McClellan before Lee and Jackson could attack. They expected at the very least to have one hundred and fifty thousand men in line, most of them veterans.
But Dick saw Shepard again that evening. He had come from a long journey and he reported great activity in the Southern camp. When Dick said that Lee and Jackson would have to fight both Pope and McClellan the spy merely replied:
“Yes, if Pope and McClellan hurry.”
But Dick learned that night that Pope was not discouraged. He had an army full of fighting power, and eager to meet its enemy. He began the next day to move up the river in order that he might face Lee's whole force as it attempted to cross at the upper fords. Their spirits increased as they learned that Early, through fear of being cut off, was going back to join the main Southern army.
The ground had now dried up after the great storm, but the refreshed earth took on a greener tinge, and the air was full of sparkle and life. Dick had not seen such elasticity among the troops in a long time. As they marched they spoke confidently of victory. One regiment took up a song which had appeared in print just after the fall of Sumter:
“Men of the North and West,
Wake in your might.
Prepare as the rebels have done
For the fight.
You cannot shrink from the test;
Rise! Men of the North and West.”
Another regiment took up the song, and soon many thousands were singing it; those who did not know the words following the others. Dick felt his heart beat and his courage mount high, as he sang with Warner and Pennington the last verse:
“Not with words; they laugh them to scorn,
And tears they despise.
But with swords in your hands
And death in your eyes!
Strike home! Leave to God all the rest;
Strike! Men of the North and West!”
The song sung by so many men rolled off across the fields, and the woods and the hills gave back the echo.
“We will strike home!” exclaimed Dick, putting great emphasis on the “will.” “Our time for victory is at hand.”